By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. Chief Burke grabbed me by my cheeks and hit me on the top of my head, Mr. Loeb testified during his 2013 trial, during which he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. The defense accused the government of turning Mr. Burkes longtime friendship with Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland into a crime, saying the conversations that the three men had during the federal investigation did not rise to the level of obstruction of justice. Burke's mentor, Spotawas sentenced to serve five years in prison in August 2021 after a jury found him and McPartlandguilty in December 2019 of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy for their role in the cover-up. Burke, 54, of St. James, was charged in 2015 with assaulting Smithtown resident Christopher Loeb who was arrested for stealing a duffel bags with items from Burke's SCPD-issued SUV as well as other police vehicles in 2012. The bag belonged to James Burke, the police chief in Suffolk County, and was stolen from his parked car in December 2012. That's corruption.''. Sources say Bellone didn't want a security detail, but Burke told him there was a threat against him so he had one for a few months in 2012. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler said Burke's crimes went beyond the beating and affected the entire 2,000-member police department. During the assault, Loeb was handcuffed and chained to an eyebolt fastened to the floor at the Fourth Precinct. Mr. Spota had been a longtime mentor and friend of Mr. Burkes. The defendant violated his oath and responsibilities as a law enforcement officer by exacting personal vengeance, assaulting a handcuffed suspect and abusing his authority as the highest ranking uniformed member of the Suffolk County Police Department, Mr. Capers said in a statement. Officers subpoenaed by FBI agents investigating the 2012 beating were brought in and interrogated about whether they had talked, prosecutors said. Burke and others within the department maneuvered in a backroom plot to sabotage . she said. Prosecutors said that Burke has two brothers who can care for their mother, and that one of the brothers was already living in her home, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported. Loeb said at the time he required the walker due to dog bites sustained during his arrest. Metro-North conductor: Don't blame us for seat-hogging rid Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, Bride killed, groom seriously hurt by drunk driver just minutes after leaving reception, All the red carpet highlights and star-studded fashionfrom the Karl Lagerfeld-themed Met Gala, After legal weed, NYC's once-wild 4/20 party just another boring street fair, How a retired detective snared his seventh 'Torso Killer' confession, The best-dressed celebs at the 2023 Met Gala: Rihanna, Gisele Bndchen, more, Kim Kardashians Met Gala 2023 look sparks comparisons to Playboy cover, Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson reunite at Met Gala 9 months after breakup, Khristina Williams previews the New York Liberty's 2023 WNBA season, Katy Perry will be temporarily replaced on 'American Idol' amid drama. Compared with those in other departments, officers in the Suffolk agency are well paid, making $125,000 in base pay. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The victim, Christopher Loeb, addressed Burke in court. Thats corruption.. Mr. Spota was a longtime Republican who ran as a Democrat to win election in 2001. Officers subpoenaed by FBI agents investigating the 2012 beating were brought in and interrogated about whether they had talked, prosecutors said. Inside new mortgage fee rules, Retaining wall collapses in the Bronx due to severe weather. Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke apologized to his victim, the judge, his family and residents of his Long Island community before being sentenced to 46 months Wednesday by. Welcome to the official website of Suffolk County Sheriff's Office. Its all part of a corruption case involving a former Long Island district attorney. When Mr. Burke entered the interrogation room, Mr. Loeb was handcuffed and chained to an eyebolt fastened to the floor, according to prosecutors. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. "He's doing much better these days," Cassar said. Internal Affairs reports also found Burke had engaged in sexual acts in police vehicles and had a sexual relationship with "a convicted felon, known to be actively engaged in criminal conduct including the possession and sale of illegal drugs, prostitution and larceny.". He was convicted of assaulting a man in 2012 during an interrogation and obstructing a federal investigation. They said, 'If you guys don't toe the line and keep lying, we are going to 'Oliva' you," said Oliva. All Rights Reserved. Drugs were found in the prison cell of a disgraced former Long Island police chief serving time for beating up a man who stole a stash of porn and a sex toy from his official police vehicle and covering it up, according to a report. Prosecutors called Burke's time as chief a "reign of terror.''. SCPD members who witnessed the assault came under direct and extreme pressure from the defendants and others to conceal it, prosecutors said. Well fortunately today, for the first time in my life, my belief in the justice system has surfaced, because today, defendant Burke, there is law and this is order., First published on November 3, 2016 / 6:33 PM. Mr. Hickey had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, and Mr. Krantz said that he was testifying only to spare himself a harsh prison sentence. In a 2013 court hearing, Mr. Loeb testified that when he asked for a lawyer, one detective told him, This isnt Law & Order; youre not going to get an attorney.. A union official falsely told several officers Burke and other high-ranking Suffolk County law enforcement authorities had obtained copies of FBI memos containing the names of people speaking with investigators. He said that one of those assignments was keeping tabs on newly elected Steve Bellone. Loeb later pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to three years in prison; he was released last summer. The incident began in Ridge, Suffolk prosecutors said in 2019, after Loeb nearly ran over a woman walking her dog while driving in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The coconspirators were not identified in the letter, but prosecutors said their investigation is ongoing. Central Islip federal Judge Leonard Wexler trashed Burke as a dictator during sentencing, when the ex-lawman apologized to Loeb. Detectives and sergeants have been known to earn more than $200,000 a year. Loeb, 36, was arrested in March 2019 after police and prosecutors said he tried to run over officers, deliberately crashed into a police car and drove across lawns to get away. Prosecutors, however, have said in court papers that Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland operated in a manner more akin to criminal enterprise than a district attorneys office.. After 37 years, Suffolk County's police commissioner is retiring Larry H. Krantz, Mr. McPartlands lawyer, on Thursday called Mr. Hickey a delusional and paranoid alcoholic whose memories could not be trusted, saying he would show Mr. Hickeys hospital records during trial. Burke pleaded guilty to the charges and served time in prison. He stole a duffel bag inside the vehicle that included a fake penis, a stash of porn and a box of cigars, according to court papers. In May 2013 the FBI and the US Attorney's Office opened an investigation into alleged actions by Burke when employed as Chief of the Suffolk County Police Department: the alleged assault of a suspect in police custody, a subsequent cover-up, and coercion of witnesses. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. At that time I, along with others willfully used unreasonable force and slapped and hit this individual causing bodily injury. When the police later arrested a heroin user with the bag, Mr. Burke walked into the station house to confront the man, who was handcuffed to the floor of an interrogation room. By the end of 2013, the investigation had stalled and no criminal charges had been filed because Mr. Spota, Mr. McPartland and others had pressured witnesses to lie under oath and to withhold information from investigators, prosecutors said. FBI agents arrest the former Suffolk County Chief of Police James Burkeoutside his Smithtown home on Dec. 9, 2015. Prosecutors said the woman grabbed her dog and dived on a neighbors lawn to avoid getting hit. As a result, officers who were present for the beating or heard Burke brag about it at a Christmas party stayed quiet for years, prosecutors said. Here is the full text of Burke's plea statement: "On December 14, 2012, I was the Chief of the Suffolk County Police Department. Those efforts continued even after the F.B.I. In what has been called an "unusual move," he was then criminally prosecuted by Spota and McPartland. He is an award-winning journalist and the co-author of two books, "The Card" and "American Icon. Suffolk County has a custom, policy, pattern and/or practice of permitting, ratifying and acquiescing to the use of excessive force against the plaintiff because the plaintiff was a target of the defendants as a result of the plaintiff exposing corruption and the use of excessive force within the Suffolk County Police Department in a prior civil rights action against the county of Suffolk, the complaint said. Burke.). RIVERHEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- The former chief of the Suffolk County Police Department pleaded guilty to charges of deprivation of civil rights and obstruction of justice Friday morning. In what has been called an "unusual move," he was then criminally prosecuted by Spota and McPartland. A few months after the 2012 assault, the man caught with the duffel bag, Christopher Loeb, told investigators that Mr. Burke had beaten him, prompting a federal civil rights investigation. Capers was seated at the prosecution table during the sentencing but did not immediately comment afterward. He has sued Burke and the Police Department. He is expected to testify that the defendants instructed him to pressure other police detectives into hiding the truth about Mr. Burkes assault from investigators. Prosecutors called Burke's time as chief a "reign of terror.". A Suffolk County Police Officer begins the job at a salary of $42,000 per annum. That accusation is a baseless and damnable lie, Mr. Spotas lawyer, Alan M. Vinegrad, said in his opening statement. Burke resigned from the force in October after a 31-year career. U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler said Burkes crimes went beyond the beating and affected the entire 2,000-member police department. On Wednesday, former officer Kenneth Bombace, who admitted to assaulting suspect Christopher Loeb with Burke, testified he covered it up because Suffolk police officers feared a fate similar to Oliva's if they ever crossed Burke. Chief of the Suffolk County Police Department James Burke addresses Suffolk County legislators in Hauppauge on Feb. 2, 2012. Credit: Ed Betz November 18, 2015 Didn't find what you. The federal inquiry has since expanded beyond Mr. Burke to look into a broader pattern of possible corruption in both the police department and the office of the Suffolk County district attorney, Thomas J. Spota. "My client is going to do his time like a man, and he's going to come out and be a productive member of society," Burke's attorney, John Meringolo, told reporters, including CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff. During the same meeting, Mr. Spota, Mr. McPartland and Mr. Burke discussed who was a rat and directed a police officer to remind other officers what happened to people who go against the administration.. Prior to Spota's trial, the feds were probing then Suffolk police chief James Burke for beating a handcuffed suspect who was charged with stealing the angry chief's duffel bag, full of the chief's nifty playthings. Federal prosecutors have indicated other charges may be looming for accomplices who helped cover up the crime. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, names the county, the police department and officers Shawn Petersen, Erik Pedersen, Frank Santanello, Mathew Kenneally and Glen Ritchie as defendants. Burke is expected to be sentenced to 51 months in prison, according to a plea deal with the US Attorney. Mr. Spota and Mr. Burke have been close for decades, and the district attorney helped Mr. Burke secure his job as the top officer for much of Long Island, despite a sometimes checkered history. They said the former police chief had concocted a cover story and never admitted to the defendants he had assaulted the man who took his bag. Late in the afternoon, the jury also heard from Anthony Leto, another former Suffolk police officer who admitted to assaulting suspect Christopher Loeb and covering it up with then-police chief James Burke. The man beaten by former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke has filed a second lawsuit stemming from a second incident where he alleges police again used excessive force. Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke apologized to his victim, the judge, his family and his Long Island community before being sentenced to 46 months Wednesday. Federal prosecutors have described a climate of fear and retribution cultivated by top law enforcement officials in Suffolk County, where subordinates worried their careers would be destroyed if they did not obey corrupt orders. There were some bombshells dropped Thursday in the obstruction of justice trial of former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and his top aide Christopher McPartland, including an allegation that former chief James Burke ordered officers to spy on Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. As a result, officers who were present for the beating or heard Burke brag about it at a Christmas party stayed quiet for years, prosecutors said. Thomas J. Spota, center, leaving court after being charged with obstruction of justice in 2017. Capers was seated at the prosecution table during the sentencing but did not immediately comment afterward. I and others did knowingly and intentionally conspire and took affirmative steps to obstruct, including conspiring with other participants not to cooperate with the investigation, so that the grand jury and the United States Attorney's Office would not find out the true events of December 14, 2012.". As your Sheriff, I have made it my priority to protect public safety, speak up and against the grain to do what I know . In a pre-sentencing letter to Wexler, prosecutors said "high-ranking officials" from other county agencies helped Burke silence potential whistleblowers after he pummeled a heroin addict who had taken his gun belt, ammunition, a box of cigars and a bag containing sex toys and pornography. Former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke to be Transferred to Pennsylvania Prison: Report, Former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke Sentenced to Federal Prison, Former Suffolk Police Chief Accused of Assault, Covering up Federal Investigation. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "RRCs help inmates gradually rebuild their ties to the community and facilitate supervising ex-offenders' activities during this readjustment phase. Mr. Loeb responded to the thrashing by calling Mr. Burke a pervert and mocking him for the pornography he found in his car, according to federal prosecutors. Questions of Burke's fitness to lead surfaced as far back as 1995, when he was found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer for twice failing to safeguard his weapon. The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) is a local civilian agency established in 1960, and covers 5 out of the 10 towns in the county, them being: . Their lawyers on Thursday placed the blame squarely on Mr. Burke. Credit: James Carbone, Michael O'Keeffe covers Suffolk County police and other Long Island law enforcement agencies. Credit: Barry Sloan. All Rights Reserved. He was released from prison this year after receiving a 46-month sentence. James Burke, Ex-Suffolk County Police Chief, Pleads Guilty, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/nyregion/james-burke-ex-suffolk-county-police-chief-guilty-plea.html, saying he posed a danger to the community, leaving his handgun with the woman, Newsday reported. Mr. Spota, 78, served for more than 15 years as the top prosecutor in Suffolk County, on the eastern end of Long Island. This week, Mr. Spota goes on trial along with one of his top deputies, Christopher McPartland, in a case that could expose the inner workings of a law enforcement culture on Long Island plagued by longstanding accusations of corruption. Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland, 55, had each requested sentences that included. Mr. Burke was hoping to to dig up blackmail dirt on her, Mr. Miskiewicz testified, calling the episode something out of the K.G.B.. The man whose 2012 beating by Suffolk police led to prison terms for ex-Chief of Department James Burke and former District Attorney Thomas Spota alleges in a federal lawsuit that he was physically beat, terrorized and threatened by officers during a 2019 arrest. Stacey Sager reports on the sentencing from Central Islip. Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland are also accused of requiring police witnesses to hire people from a list of lawyers who were expected to share information with Mr. Burkes legal team, prosecutors said. Their relationship began four decades ago in an unusual way: As a teenager, Mr. Burke testified as a witness in a homicide trial in which Mr. Spota was the prosecutor. And from there, they said, it only got worse. The assault prompted a federal criminal investigation that lasted more than four years and eventually led to the resignation not only of the police chief but also of the longtime Suffolk County district attorney, Thomas J. Spota, who was accused of trying to cover it up. Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. Two years. During this arrest the defendants physically beat, terrorized and threatened Christopher Loeb and during this arrest the defendants encouraged, directed and/or permitted a Suffok County police dog named 'Brick'to attack the plaintiff and as result of this attack by 'Brick,'the plaintiff suffered substantial pain and serious physical injury," the lawsuit states. Paying more despite good credit? After the interrogation, Mr. Burke pressured the detectives who witnessed the assault to conceal it. I think we still have a long way to go," said Trotta, who spoke at the sentencing. He has sued Burke and the Police Department, seeking damages. Conway argued that Loeb's account was less than credible. The former chief, James Burke, 51, who was known for his swaggering confidence as the leader of one of the regions largest police departments, was subdued in Federal District Court here as the charges against him were read aloud. On Thursday morning, during opening statements, prosecutors laid out their case that Mr. Spota and his deputy directed a cover-up to protect Mr. Burke, pressuring potential witnesses not to cooperate with the federal investigation into the assault. He's remorseful.". The next day, he resigned as the Suffolk County district attorney. November 2, 2016 / 5:48 PM CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. The former police chief of Suffolk County pleaded guilty on Friday to federal charges stemming from accusations that he beat a suspect in custody, threatened to kill him and then coerced his fellow officers into covering up the misconduct.